Gary and Morris Host a Winter Festival

Christmas and New Year’s Eve at The Hervey Foundation for Cats had come and gone, and boy, were they busy! With all the guests, dinners, baking, gift wrap, unwrapping, clinking glasses and midnight countdowns, it seemed like everyone was ready for a nice, relaxing January – cats included!

On top of the busy holiday season, the weather had been very cold all December, which meant the kitties weren’t spending much time outside in the cat runs or catios. They’d wake up (forgetting it was winter), head to the cat run, then stand around the entrance sneezing and blinking as the cold air rushed past them.

There was a strange mix of exhaustion and cabin fever happening amongst the cats. While they welcomed the quieter days to come, they also felt like they had been cooped up inside because of the icy winds.

The good news? For some reason, the weather let up a bit after New Year’s Day, and temperatures were a bit more reasonable over the last week. The snow wasn’t melting, but the sun was out, the wind was dead, and it was more than warm enough for two cats on a mission. Gary and Morris could sense the change in the weather and were eager to get outside and shake off the indoors.

“It feels even warmer today,” said Gary, as he lay directly in a sunbeam. “We have to do something before I turn into a statue.”

Morris laughed.

“I feel the same way, trust me,” he replied. “Feels like I’m becoming part of the carpet after spending so much time on it.”

The boys could hear Marjorie in the next room on the phone, talking to Dan, her writer from Manitoba! They were discussing some sort of festival that happens there.

“So, you say it’s called Festival du Voyager?” she said, “Mhmm. Oh, that’s interesting! So, it’s not just music.”

The cats had nothing else going on, so they moved a little closer and listened in a little further.

“Maple syrup treats? That sounds nice,” she added. “It’s all mostly French? So, the snow sculptures are like a contest. Who judges the contest? Well, that sounds like a real fun time – a winter festival!”

Gary and Morris weren’t interested in maple syrup or speaking French, but they loved the idea of a winter festival. They had put on lots of events with their woodland friends, but this one felt fresh and exciting.

“This is great!” said Morris. “Let’s do it! A winter fest in the forest!”

“It’s still early – let’s figure out what we want to do, then get everyone together,” said Gary. “At least the ones who aren’t hibernating.”

The boys got up and walked past Marjorie, brushing up against her legs. She reached down and petted the two cats as they went by.

Gary and Morris headed for the basement window they usually open to escape from the house, all the while they were buzzing with ideas for the festival.

“I want to make a big slide out of snow and ice,” said Gary.

“I’m going to set up a little kitchen and serve snacks,” said Morris.

“I think we also need to have a snow sculpture contest, just like the one Marjorie was talking about on the phone,” said Gary. “It’s a great way to get everyone involved.”

“How should we get started?” asked Morris.

“Terrance spends a lot of time inside in the winter, but he doesn’t hibernate – let’s go see if he’ll help us,” Gary replied.

The cats darted through a mix of snow and soaking wet mud, all the way down to the frozen river where Terrance had his dam.

“Terrance! Terrance! Wake up!” they shouted.

“I am up!” came a muffled voice from inside the dam.

Terrance waddled outside atop his home, and saw the two cats standing at the riverbank.

“What brings you two here on this fine day?” he asked.

“Happy New Year!” Morris shouted.

“And to you two, too,” Terrance said with a laugh.

“Morris and I want to put on a fun, winter festival today, and we were wondering if you’d help us out?” asked Gary.

Terrance wanted to know some details – what sort of festival was it? Where was it taking place? What did they need help with?

The boys filled him in on all the details and let him know what was needed of him. Being the consummate engineer, Terrance was in. He knew they’d need help and proposed the idea of a structure for people to get out of the cold and warm up.

“We sure are glad we came to get you,” said Gary.

“Off we go, boys! There’s work to be done!” Terrance declared.

While explaining the festival to Terrance, Gary and Morris told him about a location they knew on the beach that wasn’t too far from Bullwinkle’s cabin.

“We’ll need a crane,” said Terrance. “One of you should go see if Bullwinkle is available.”

Morris volunteered and took off down one of the adjacent forest trails while Gary and Terrance made their way to the beach.

“There sure is a lot of snow here,” said Terrance.

“Yeah, it’s a lot worse than I thought it would be. It’s so deep I can’t even get my foot on these dunes without it sinking right in.”

“That’s no problem,” said Terrance. “Allow me!”

Now it’s important to know that Terrance is a beaver who is a bit on the bigger side. Being the highly intelligent creature that he is, his ability to source food is very good, so he eats well. Not only is he well-fed, but he comes from a long line of rather large beavers as well. So, with this in mind, Terrance got to work using his massive tail and started clearing and flattening out the snow on the beach.

“Terrance! Don’t forget to make some piles for the sculpting contest!” Gary shouted from the sideline.

Terrance was a wonder at clearing out snow and compacting it into hard mounds. It makes sense, though, as he uses his tail to compact mud and straw into his dam to ensure it is weatherproof and watertight!

Just as Terrance was finishing up, and Gary was inspecting the snow mounds, Bullwinkle the moose walked right out of the tree line. Like a Sherman tank, as he appeared, the sights and sounds of trees snapping around him filled the air. He strode slowly and with purpose, with a cat named Morris sitting on his shoulders. He was full-grown now and quite large.

“Bullwinkle, so good to see you!” said Gary.

“Excellent,” shouted Terrance. “The heavy equipment has arrived!”

Bullwinkle laughed and let Morris down off his back, then walked over to Terrance and started chatting with him. Gary and Morris joined them and started discussing their vision for the day.

After a bit of planning, the animals all got to work prepping the space. Terrance took off into the forest to find some younger trees to chop and make a frame for their warming hut, while Bullwinkle helped the cats gather brush and branches to make a nice, soft floor for it.

After rounding up the appropriate number of logs, Terrance and Bullwinkle started framing up the warming shelter.

“Gary, Morris, if you can find something useful to put over the roof of this thing, that’d be great!” said Terrance.

“There is a big plastic sheet at my cabin,” said Bullwinkle. “I bet it would fit.”

“Perfect!” said Gary. “Let’s go!”

The two cats took off into the forest towards Bullwinkle’s cabin to find the tarp, or plastic sheet, as he called it.

While they were gone, the raccoon family came across Terrance and Bullwinkle while they were building the warming hut.

“Hey, fellas, what are you two up to today?” asked Mama Raccoon.

“Yeah, this looks amazing!” said Papa Raccoon. “What is all this?”

“We’re helping Gary and Morris put on a winter festival today,” said Terrance. “I don’t know where they get these hair-brained ideas from.”

“More like hairball!” said Bullwinkle.

The animals all started laughing.

One of the raccoon babies started climbing one of the snow mounds and playing on the thing.

“What are those for?” asked Mama Raccoon.

“I’ve been told there will be a sculpting contest,” said Bullwinkle.

“So… are we invited or what?” asked Papa Raccoon.

“Of course you are!” said Terrance, who went on to explain that they were going to invite all the woodland animals to come have fun.

“Well, we could spread the word,” said Mama Raccoon. “We’re just out for a walk with the family, and we totally have time.” 

“That would be great!” said Terrance.

The raccoons stayed and chatted for a few more minutes until they decided it was a good time to start rounding up the other animals in the forest to come have fun.

Moments after the raccoons left the beach, Gary and Morris got back with not just the tarp from inside Bullwinkle’s cabin, which was folded neatly somehow despite him having hooves, but a bag of cat food as well.

“We ran all the way back home to get treats!” said Morris.

Bullwinkle got busy placing the tarp over the warming hut while Gary and Morris dragged branches and leaves onto the floor of it.

While the three worked on the hut, Terrance started building a slide. He packed a bunch of snow up high and then tapered it all the way down onto the frozen lake water, so when the rider hits the bottom, they keep going! He is a perfectionist, so he went up and down that slide over and over, pounding it with his tail until it was as solid and slippery as ice.

Just as they started setting up a little kitchen space for Morris to hand out food to guests, the guests started to arrive!

“Welcome, everyone!” said Gary. “Welcome to our very first winter festival!”

“Come enjoy the attractions we’ve set up, and grab a bite to eat from me,” said Morris.

“And if you are feeling creative, step on up to one of the snow mounds along the festival site and carve a sculpture of your choosing,” said Gary.

All the animals cheered and scurried off to have fun. They were chatting, laughing, and basking in the sun while the snow under their feet gently melted into the sand. It was a beautiful day. Morris was having a blast handing out treats, and the young ones loved the big slide Terrance made. They’d slide so far out onto the icy lake and then try to run back, slipping in hilarious ways.

The warming hut was a huge success with the parents. They were watching their young ones enjoy the slide while they got to sit and catch up with each other, snacking and having a great old time.

After a few hours, Gary and Morris decided it was time to judge the snow sculpture contest. They had six entrants, each one unique, some not so great, but unique nonetheless. The cats decided the best way to judge them would be to present each one to the attendees, then do a vote so everyone has a say in who the winner is.

“First up, we have Papa Raccoon’s sculpture,” said Gary. “This is a giant acorn, clearly. Very nice work, Papa Raccoon.”

The crowd clapped and cheered.

“Next up, we have Terrance’s entry,” said Morris. “It looks a little hectic… what are we looking at, Terrance?”

“It’s a 1:4 scale replica of my dam,” Terrance replied from the crowd.

Everyone laughed, but it was true. Terrance did a great job replicating his home, but since he lives in a beaver dam, it looked like a pile of sticks and dirt.

“Our third entry comes from Joey the squirrel,” said Gary. “Joey, great effort, but next year we might need to get you a smaller mound of snow.”

Joey’s “sculpture” was basically still the starting mound of snow with a few pieces dug out of the corners – clearly done with tiny hands.

“Next, we have Gilbert the Crow’s sculpture,” said Morris. “This one is quite nice. It looks like… a crow! Is that you?”

“Darn right!” said Gilbert from the crowd.

“Next up is Morris, who actually did a great job of carving a turkey,” said Gary. “Morris, we live together, and I didn’t know you were this creative. How is that possible?”

Everyone gasped as they were so impressed by Morris’s work.

“And lastly,” said Morris. “We have this beautiful piece by our friend Bullwinkle. Bullwinkle, you’re a great guy, but it looks like all you did was stab a bunch of holes in this snow.”

“I have skinny legs and hooves, what else can I do?” said the great moose.

They took a vote from the crowd to pick a winner, and in the end, they chose Papa Raccoon’s acorn!

“Congrats to Papa Raccoon, but you’re all winners in our books,” said Gary. “Head over to Morris’s kitchen and grab yourself a snack! Let’s all have some more snacks!”

“And thank you all for coming!” said Morris, who jumped down and back behind the counter of his snack hut.  

All the animals stuck around for the rest of the day, playing, chatting, and enjoying each other’s company. The weather stayed nice all day until the sun started setting, when the wind started to pick up, and it got cold.

As the animals all trickled out, they wished each other well and said it was nice to catch up. Gary and Morris were so proud of the work they had accomplished, and they could tell Bullwinkle and Terrance were too.

“Thank you so much, you guys,” said Morris to the beaver and the moose.

“Really, thank you both for everything you do,” said Terrance. “I may be a portly, fussy beaver, but I wouldn’t get out and have even half of the adventures I would without you in my life.”

“Yeah,” said Bullwinkle. “You guys are really good friends.”

The cats thanked them back and then hopped on Bullwinkle’s back alongside Terrance as the four animals rode off into the forest to go home for the night.